Autumn gets off to a chilly start in Mammoth.

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LEAVES BEFORE SNOW: If you've been up to the Eastern Sierra, you've likely swung by Mammoth. And if you've been to Mammoth, for skiing or eating or music-festival-ing or mountain-biking or leaf-peeping, than you know the symbolic mammoth statue in town. And if you know the symbolic mammoth statue, you know that you're likely to see a fallen autumnal leaf or two resting upon its tusks or back before you see the cold, white stuff that the ski destination is famous for.

BUT... that kind of changed up on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 21, when snow fell on the last day of summer in the area. Pictures have come down from the mountain, including one of an electronic sign confirming the early-for-snow date, and, yep, that mammoth statue looks a mite chilly.

AND IT IS TIMELY... because Mammoth just announced its opening date for the season a few days back: Thursday, Nov. 7. That's a few weeks ahead of June Mountain, which will re-open after a shuttered year on Saturday, Dec. 14. Will the first-day-of-fall-snowfall change things up in terms of skiing? Best keep an eye on the Mammoth Facebook page for the latest report.

STILL... a lot of people will be heading up to the Sierra to check out the aspen groves. Snow is pretty, but here's hoping the local foliage stretches out for a few more weeks. One nearby place to check it out? June Lake, which is also hosting a craft beer shindig on the first Saturday in October. Looks, snow, we absolutely love you, we do, but it was just summer a few days ago. Can you come back to call in a couple of weeks?